Justification

Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems

Kayla Harrison
Dr. Perkins
TLC 2
March 31, 2015

Working with a classroom of diverse students can be a challenge, but having knowledge
of the students cultures, and their families, can help when planning lessons. Observing students
behaviors and observing what they discuss amongst one another is important to planning a

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lesson, as well. As a teacher, I have to put my personal preferences aside, and teach what the
children are interested in, and what they can benefit from the most. This was a helpful reminder
to me when I was planning my lesson.
During my time in the classroom, I observed a few students showing difficulty sharing
with one another. I chose to do a lesson on sharing, in hopes that it would influence the students
to share, by reflecting on experiences theyve had sharing and how it felt. I also noted that the
cooperating teacher was working on counting numbers from 0-10 with the students. I felt that
this was a great opportunity for me to expand the time the students could be practicing counting.
I incorporated two counting activities that I felt were fun for the students, but that also had an
educational purpose.
After completing the Early Childhood Cultural Competence Scan, I gathered up all the
data I collected from my classroom observations, the scan, and from my parent interviews. The
classroom I am in is very diverse and promotes diversity. I knew when I first stepped into the
classroom, that I would have a great experience because the classroom featured culturally diverse
dolls, books, dramatic play props, and posters. I knew that the teacher knew about and
understood diverse family and community characteristics (Brinks, 2009). A lot of the activities
and lessons that the children engage in feature different cultures, or allow the children to express
their cultures through art, music and literacy. Childrens artwork is displayed all around the
classroom, and the one thing I really love about the classroom is that the teacher allots a certain
time each day for Show and Share. During Show and Share, the students show artwork,
writing, or projects they made outside the classroom. The teacher and both assistants are very
encouraging, and they show much enthusiasm when a child shares. I love being there to witness
this special time during the day.

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My lesson was influenced by the classroom in many ways. My lesson reflects what I
have observed in the way the children behave, and my lesson also incorporates a family aspect.
The children will have a take-home family project to complete. This project requires the family
to work together to make an ice cream sundae, or an ice cream cone, whatever they choose.
Each ice cream scoop represents a family member, and each member will decorate his or her
own scoop. I felt that including a family project would be fun, engaging, and involve families
in their childrens development and learning (Brinks, 2009). It is extremely important to
include families in their childrens education and development.
The children are encouraged to bring their family ice cream sundaes into school when
they are completed, so they can share with the class. They will be able to share during Show
and Share. I wanted each child to be able to talk about their family, and display the artwork that
each member took part in, around the classroom. This project would be added to the numerous
other family artwork pieces featured on the classroom walls. As a teacher, I must plan and
implement curriculums that reflect, support, and value the varieties of cultural backgrounds,
religious affiliations, socioeconomic classes, and language groups that children represent
(Cohen, 2009, p. 72). Through this lesson, I want children to master the skill of counting from 010. I also want the children to recognize, and respect that each family is different and has unique
traits.
References
Brinks, B., Bullard, J., Cruz, J., Fredericks, S., Johnston, J., Rust, F., & Thomas-Fair, U.
(2009, January 1). NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation
Programs. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from
https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ProfPrepStandards09.pdf

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Cohen, L. (2009, May 1). Exploring Cultural Heritage in a Kindergarten Classroom.
NAEYC, pp. 72.